Irrigating device.



N. E. AUSTIN.

IRRIGATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29. 1908.

00. .L v w 4% 38 M w H t W h F m. w a 4 M W F M 8 L w. 3 m J u anew a grunm 0m PWOTWTRDGRAPNERS. WASHING? NELSON E. AUSTIN, OF IDANBURY, CONNECTICUT.

IRRIGATING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 26, 1909.

Application filed. June 29, 1908. Serial No. 440,998.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NELSON E. AUSTIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Danbury, in the county of F airfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Irrigation Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in irrigation tiles, but more particularly has reference to devices of this description which are located above the surface of the ground which is to be irrigated.

The object of my improvement is to provide an irrigation device which shall sufiiciently moisten the surrounding earth without flooding the same and thereby wasting the water, and with these ends in View my invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and then particularly pointed out in the claims which conclude this description.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a perspective view of a section of an irrigation device constructed in tile form in accordance with my improvement-Fig. 2 a cross section of the structure shown at Fig. 1 as it appears when set in position for the purposes of irrigation-Fig. 3 a plan view of a modified form of my improvement, and Fig. 4 a cross section of the construction shown at Fig. 3.

Similar numbers of reference denote like parts in the several figures of the drawing.

My improvement consists in placing within the tile or basin of the irrigation device a sheet of some suitable absorbent fabric, such as burlap, cheese cloth, or the like, and allowing the ends of the fabric to overlap the sides of the tile or basin and thence extend downwardly to a point below the lower level of said tile or basin, the tile or basin being then filled to any suitable level with water, which water will be absorbed by the fabric and be drawn by capillary attraction and a siphoning process over the edge of the tile or basin and thence discharged by a series of droppings from the ends of the fabric into the soil.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, 1 is any suitably shaped tile, and 2 the cloth or other fabric contained therein and having its ends 3 extending downwardly outside the tile and below the inner level of the tile. I preferably mount this tile on a slight elevation 4, which may be especially formed if necessary, so that the Water will drop upon the slopes of said elevation and thence be diffused throughout the level of the ground at the base of said elevation. By mounting the tile on an elevationas described, the sides of the latter will act as water sheds which will serve as feeders to the soil in proximity, and there will be no likelihood of any flooding. Of course in some instances the tile may be placed upon the level ground, if desired, in which instance the ends of the fabric might trail upon the soil.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, I have shown my improvement embodied in the form of a basin 5 with absorbent strips 6, 7 crossing each other and disposed within the basin and having their extremities extending over the edge of the basin and depending below the inner level of the latter as shown in the instance of the ends 8 of the strip 7 Basins of this sort may be utilized either upon the surface of the ground or they may be suspended above the same, and the process of irrigation is precisely the same as that heretofore described with respect to Figs. 1 and 2. I therefore do not wish to be limited to any particular construct-ion of tile or basin, nor

do I wish to be limited to the use of a single thickness of fabric since layers of fabric may be utilized according to the amount of irrigation required.

If necessary, the fabric may of course be held down within the tile or basin by means of any suitable weight or fastening device, but this is a mere mechanical expedient and has nothing to do with my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An irrigation device, comprising in combination with an elevation of soil having sloping sides, a basin adapted to contain water, said basin being adapted to have its bottom seat on the top of said elevation of soil, and a plurality of strips of absorbent fabric arranged so that their intermediate portions seat on the bottom of the interior of said basin, and their ends extend downwardly from the top edge of the basin, said strips being arranged so that their central parts cross one another whereby the end 1 the soil elevation, and atpointsbetween the 2 portions of the strips are in spaced relation and engage said basin at opposite points on the top edge thereof, the ends of said strips terminating at points approximately central of the length of said sloping sides of the, elevation of soil.

2. An irrigation device, comprising in combination With an elevation of soil having sloping sides a receptacle, said receptacle being adapted to have its bottom seat on the top of said elevation of soil, and absorbent fabric arranged to have an intermediate part thereof lie on the bottom of said receptacle and to have its end portions engage the top edges of said receptacle and adapted to eX- tend downwardly therefrom at an incline, the ends of said absorbent fabric terminating at points adjacent said sloping sides of top and bottom ends of the sloping sides.

3,. An irrigation device comprising in combination with an elevation of suitable material for forming a support, a receptacle having its bottom adapted to seat on the top of said elevation, and absorbent fabric arranged to have an intermediate part there-' of on the interior of said receptacle and to have its end portions engage the top edges of said receptacle, and adapted to extend downwardly therefrom below the horizontal plane of said receptacle.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

NELSON E. AUSTIN. Witnesses :v V

GEO. WVAKEMAN, V EUGENE M. BULKLEY. 

